{{item.videoDuration}}
{{item.title}}
{{item.text}}
{{item.videoDuration}}
{{item.text}}
Addressing human rights risks in your own operations and throughout your value chain. Protect your products, your revenue, and your reputation, and avoid supply chain disruption — before regulators intervene.
Human Rights Due Diligence: from compliance checkbox to value chain resilience
Companies face growing pressure to address human rights risks due to increasing regulatory requirements, growing stakeholder expectations, and the potential for severe business consequences (reputational, legal, and financial) if human rights abuses occur.
In the Unites States, customs authorities have detained thousands of shipments a year, worth billions of dollars cumulatively, under forced-labour import rules, particularly the UFLPA, unless importers can show their goods are clean. From December 2027, the EU's Forced Labour Regulation will let authorities investigate and ban products made with forced labour at any point in the supply chain, with customs enforcing those decisions at the border. This could result in material impact in you business as well.
For companies without full visibility into their supply chains, this is no longer just a reputational issue — it's a direct threat to market access and revenue.
PwC’s Human Rights Due Diligence service helps organisations navigate the requirements with a modular, end-to-end approach that is aligned with OECD guidelines and enables you to benefit from regulatory synergies. Whether you are starting from scratch or strengthening an existing programme, we meet you where you are.
Evolution of due diligence
Human rights due diligence has evolved from voluntary self-reporting to a binding obligation of result under EU regulation.
| Level 1: Voluntary Commitments | From 1990s (e.g. UN Global Compact) CSR-driven to showcase sustainable & green credentials |
| Level 2: Soft-Law Frameworks | From 2011 (e.g. UN Guiding Principles, OECD Guidance) Driven by specific issues to resolve, e.g. conflict minerals and blood diamonds |
| Level 3: Mandated – Obligation of Effort | From 2017 (e.g. France Duty of Vigilance → CSDDD) Requirement to demonstrate due diligence systems and reasonable effort |
| Level 4: Mandated – Obligation of Result | From 2022 (e.g. US Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act, EU Forced Labour Regulation) Requirement for proof e.g. that products are free from forced labour |
Our approach
We help you design and implement a future-proof human rights due diligence system that covers the full scope of your regulatory exposure. We build on what you already have in place, help you benefit from regulatory synergies, and embed due diligence into your day-to-day business practices.
Benefits for clients
The US has already shown what strict enforcement looks like, with thousands of shipments stopped at the border every year. The EU Forced Labour Regulation brings that same level of scrutiny to Europe. The cost of due diligence is minimal compared with the cost of your products being barred from the market.
{{filterContent.facetedTitle}}
{{contentList.dataService.numberHits}} {{contentList.dataService.numberHits == 1 ? 'result' : 'results'}}
{{contentList.loadingText}}
{{contentList.loadingText}}
Get in touch
Wherever you are on your journey, we understand the challenges and we're committed to helping you turn human rights due diligence into a strength, not just a requirement. Contact our experts for an initial conversation.
Contact us
Dora Forgacs
Marvin Yabili